Love's Masquerade
by iloveromance
Summary: Relieved that his disastrous Halloween party is over, Niles looks foreword to a night of relaxation... until he receives a visit from an unexpected guest. Continuation of the episode entitled "Halloween".


Niles took another sip of wine as he surveyed his apartment, doing his best to return it to its orderly state. Although he was extremely grateful to his housekeeper Louise, he found that cleaning kept his mind occupied.

But try as he might, there was no denying that his much anticipated Halloween party had been a complete and utter disaster.

Not only had he managed to humiliate Roz, but he'd gotten the ludicrous idea in his head that Daphne was carrying Frasier's baby!

And in a moment of pure, drunken insanity, he'd lowered himself to one knee and proposed to Daphne, promising to take care of her and the baby.

Dear God, what must Daphne think of him?

He wasn't terribly worried about how his brother felt, because somehow, Frasier always managed to find a way to forgive his little brother.

But he could only imagine the hurt and humiliation that Daphne must have felt when he announced to everyone that she was pregnant.

Just as he started up the stairs for bed, the doorbell rang. He cursed under his breath as he forcefully answered the door.

"Look kids, Halloween is over and I'm sick of-."  
>He stopped suddenly; the sight before him rendering him speechless. For it wasn't a group of trick-or- treaters at all.<p>

"Daphne..."

"H-hello, Dr. Crane."

His heart beat rapidly at the sight of his angel, standing in his doorway. She was still dressed in her Wife of Bath costume; a gorgeous red gown and her hair pulled away from her face in braids.

How was it that she'd become even more beautiful than she was when he saw her just a few short hours ago?

"Wh-I thought you'd gone home with Frasier."

"I did, but... I wanted to talk to you." Daphne explained.

"Y-you do? Dear God, where are my manners? Please come in." Niles said, opening the door wider."

"Thank you, Dr. Crane."

"Let me take your coat. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes, that would be lovely." She replied.

"Please, have a seat. I-I'm sorry the apartment is in shambles right now. I was just doing my best to make it presentable again."

Daphne rose from the fainting couch. "Oh, well if you're busy, I can-."

"No, please... don't go." He said, shivering slightly when he realized he was holding her wrist. "Please stay. I can clean up later."

"Let me help you." Daphne offered.

"No!" He said forcefully. "I-I mean... you're my guest and... well... I'd hate for you to ruin your costume. You look... so beautiful."

Daphne lowered herself onto the sofa cushion. "Thank you, Dr. Crane."  
>He swallowed hard. "Oh, Dear Heavens!"<p>

"What's wrong?"

"It seems that in my haste of worrying about your costume, I neglected to pour you a drink."

He rose from the fainting couch and hurried to the bar where he quickly poured two glasses of champagne.

"Will this do?" he asked, handing her the champagne flute.

Daphne took the glass from him. "Yes, this is wonderful."

"Well..." Niles said, sitting down beside her. "A toast?"

Daphne held up her glass and smiled. "What shall we toast to?"

"To us." He said quickly.

When she looked at him in surprise, he laughed nervously. "I-I mean..."

"To us." She said, clinking her champagne flute against his.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" Niles asked.

"Actually, Dr. Crane I wanted to talk to you about your proposal."

Niles nearly choked on his champagne. "W-what?"

"Well, it was very gallant of you Dr. Crane, but I was a bit shaken by the whole thing."

"I'm so sorry, Daphne. I feel horrible thinking that you and Frasier were... Well, I should never have assumed..."

She reached for his hand. "Can I ask you one thing, Dr. Crane?"

"Of course, Daphne."

There was a moment of silence before she continued. "Why did you do it?"

Niles rubbed the back of his neck. "I heard you and Frasier talking in the kitchen and I just-."

To his horror, Daphne looked away and began to cry.

He reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Daphne... Oh, please don't cry. I-I'm so sorry. It was horrible of me to assume that you and Frasier-o-or anyone for that matter-."

She turned to him with tears in her eyes. "I'm not angry, Dr. Crane. Far from it. It's just that..."

"What?" He asked, wanting so desperately to kiss her.

"Well... no one's ever done anything like that for me before."

"I'd do anything for you, Daphne. Anything at all." He said quickly.

"You must care about me an awful lot to do something so brave. Proposing to someone you don't really love." Daphne said.

Niles felt his heart sink and suddenly he knew what he had to do. "Daphne... I need to tell you something."

"Yes, Dr. Crane?"

"Well... I'm... I'm afraid you were wrong when you said that I don't love you."

She gasped lightly as though she knew what he was about to say. "I-I was?"

"Yes, because Daphne I-."

"Roz must absolutely hate me!" she said suddenly.

"What?"

"I'm supposed to be her friend and what do I do? I burst out to everyone that she's pregnant! I thought she was trying to tell me about a car accident she had! I swear, I had no idea! I-."

Niles reached for her hand and caressed her soft skin with his thumb. "You're a wonderful friend." He said.

"You're a wonderful friend, too." She said as her fingers lightly touched his skin. "In fact... you're me best friend."

"I-I am?" He asked, feeling his voice trembling as he spoke.

"Yes."

"Well... thank you, Daphne. That means a lot."

"You look very handsome in your costume, Dr. Crane."

Instinctively, his hand flew to his face and he sighed with relief when he realized that he was no longer wearing the Cyrano De Bergerac nose that accompanied the clothing.

He stared deeply into her beautiful brown eyes. "You look... Well... beautiful doesn't even begin to describe what I'm seeing right now."

When a tear slid down her cheek, he reached over and brushed it away.

"You're the sweetest man I've ever known." She whispered as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Niles blushed deeply. "Well, I'd hardly say that I'm the sweetest, although I do try to be polite and-."

His words were silenced by her lips on his. He slid his arms around her; his fingertips massaging her back and shoulders as the kiss deepened.

"Niles..." Daphne sighed, giving into the kiss even more.

Barely noticing that she'd said his name, dizziness overcame Niles when he caught a whiff of the cherry bark and almond scent of her hair.

When Daphne drew back, he stared into her eyes once more, unable to resist pulling her into his arms for another kiss.

"I-I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane."

Niles wrapped his arms around her prompting her to snuggle against him on the fainting couch as he kissed her forehead.

"Oh my angel... what could you possibly have to be sorry for?"

"For ruinin' your party." She replied.

"Nonsense!" Niles said as he refilled their champagne flutes. "You didn't ruin anything. In fact... I propose a toast."

"What shall we toast to?" Daphne asked.

Niles clinked his champagne flute against hers. "To the best Halloween of my life."

And when the champagne flutes were empty, he took her in his arms and kissed her once more.

**THE END**


End file.
